These Living Arms
by fatbloodyfinger
Summary: Been reading sankakucomplex and FFXIII kink and this sorta popped out. Nothing freaky, I assure you.


Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy, I don't. I'm just screwing around with their characters.

**These Living Arms**

By fatbloodyfinger

Hope Estheim and Lightning Farron were not big on parties, nor were they the kind of people to make a lot of friends.

Which is why they had a rather quiet dinner party with their closest friends on Hope's 17th birthday.

The few dear friends they'd made had left not long ago, leaving dirty dishes and cutlery to be cleaned. Serah had offered to stay and help, but Lightning declined.

Lightning and Hope were clearing the table, glancing and smiling at each other on occasion and enjoying the comfortable silence.

After a while, Lightning felt the urge to break it.

"So…"

Hope looked up and chuckled when he caught her gaze. "So…"

"It was a nice dinner," Lightning noted.

"Yeah. Your sister's cooking is always great."

Lightning shot Hope a dirty look, which only made him laugh.

"Don't worry, your cake was the star of the show."

"I'm flattered," Lightning replied rather dryly.

"You should be," Hope assured her. The comforting tone of his voice made her blush uncontrollably and she averted her eyes from his gaze, hoping he didn't notice. She had been doing it more often than she would have liked recently.

"I'll clean up, Hope," Lightning mumbled. "It's your birthday, you should relax."

"Okay."

Silence stole their apartment for a few moments as Lightning placed the tableware in the dishwasher and began to remove the meager birthday decorations they'd both put up. Hope sat on their couch and thumbed through an old magazine.

"17, huh?" Lightning asked absently.

"Mmmm...." Hope hummed.

"How does it feel?" Lightning knew it was a silly question, but it was something she'd always asked people on their birthdays.

"About the same as yesterday," Hope replied.

There was more silence, though this time it made Lightning uncomfortable as it drew out.

"Hey Hope, how long have we been living together?" She asked.

"About two years, I think," Hope replied.

Two years, Lightning thought. They had known each other much longer, ever since their l'Cie ordeal. But it surprised her that they'd been so comfortable as friends. Living with someone you like is a difficult step for any person, but they'd made it work for so long.

"Feels like it's been longer, hasn't it?"

It was another dumb statement. Maybe she should just sleep, Lightning thought.

"Mmmm."

Another noncommittal hum - another long silence. She should get to bed once she finished the plates, Lightning concluded. She'd been feeling strange around Hope for a while. Like there was something else between them now. She needed to rest and clear her thoughts. She wanted…

Lightning's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Hope's arms wrapping around her and his lips delicately brushing the back of her neck.

"Hope?" Lightning asked once the shock had worn off.

"Mmmmm…" Hope began to kiss her neck softly and one of hands moved up to her stomach. His fingers drew little circles on her skin through her blouse.

"What are you doing?"

Her eyebrow twitched as she noticed how obvious the answer was. It twitched again when Hope began trailing kisses along her jaw and cheek.

Hope tilted Lightning's head, their lips barely an inch from each other.

"Something I've wanted to do for a very long time," he breathed.

His kiss was lighter than Lightning expected. Hope didn't try to make it wet or force his tongue inside her mouth. It was as if he wanted her to deepen the contact.

"Mmmmph."

Lightning turned around in Hope's embrace and tried to push him away gently, but he didn't budge much, if at all. He broke the kiss eventually, but he still kept her close and his eyes never wavered from hers.

"We can't do this, Hope," Lightning whispered; feeling confused as to why she wasn't as angry as she thought she'd be.

"Why not, Light?" He asked with an almost puzzled inflection.

"Damn it, Hope! I…" She snapped. Lightning would have said more, but Hope's gaze was so intense that she shrank away. There was another deathly silence as she tried to come up with a convincing reason as to why this shouldn't happen.

"I… I don't want you in this way," Lightning said as she made eye contact again, trying to maintain a semblance of composure. "I mean, I love you - you're dear to me. But not in this way."

They were friends, she thought. Hell, they could have been brother and sister. This wasn't something they should ever do… right?

"I know when you're lying, Lightning,"Hope whispered. The pink-haired woman almost looked shocked.

"I've wanted you for a long time," he continued. "I don't know why it happened, but I saw you one day and I just had to be with you."

All Lightning could do was look away from Hope as he whispered, "I want more than what we have."

"Hope, please…" Lightning's voice was cracking. Hope kissed her gently, hoping it would calm her.

"I didn't act on it until now because I didn't want to risk our friendship," Hope breathed. His mouth curled into a tiny, almost rueful grin. "I had to know you felt the same way. But I know you do now – I know that."

"Hope…"

"Please let me be with you, Light," Hope pleaded.

"Please…" She sobbed.

"You know I'll be so good to you." Hope breathed. He kissed her again, still gently but deeper than before.

"Lightning."

Again.

"Claire."

And again.

"I'll be…"

"So…"

"Good."

This time, Lightning deepened the kiss. She pulled Hope tighter and let his tongue inside.

The emotional walls she built between them in her mind had crumbled and it felt better than she'd ever imagined.

Once Lightning broke away, she held Hope's gaze and responded with the truest word she had ever spoken in a long time.

"Yes."

**~fin  
**

Notes: Just something I wrote for a request from ffxiii_kink on LJ. I've polished it a little more than what I posted there.


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